


A Softer Story

by dustjacketduck



Category: Princess Tutu
Genre: Alternate Universe - Madoka Magica, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Nightvale, Alternate Universe - Zombies, F/M, Gen, I'm taking requests for these, Various alternate universes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-20
Updated: 2016-05-22
Packaged: 2018-06-09 12:49:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 1,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6907942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dustjacketduck/pseuds/dustjacketduck
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of three-sentence fics based off of pages from A Softer World.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I am undone

**Author's Note:**

> Page 402: http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=402  
> Requested by ballerinaduck/arctic_hare/silverhare

He stared at her, mouth slightly agape and eyes wide.

“How did you… Ahiru…  _ how _ ?”

She laughed timidly, fiddling with the end of her braid, and gazed at him with a sheepish smile, and he had to laugh because this girl defied the laws of physics so often he didn’t know why he even questioned it anymore.


	2. Zombie Birds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page 77: http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=77  
> Requested by happinessisntfun/alva_moondance

The chirping of the birds was low and guttural, and Ahiru whimpered in a very un-birdlike manner from the attic- it was so different than how they usually were, how they were supposed to be.

They had tore through the rain drenched soil like butter with lashing claws, their bodies all molting feathers and limp limbs and decaying flesh, their wings not holding enough coordination, let alone strength or feathers or flesh, to carry them through the air, so they lumbered like they were in one of Pique’s zombie flicks.

But Ahiru didn’t fancy herself to be as brave as the heroes in those films, so she was just there, cowering in an attic, praying that she’d survive and trying vainly to block out the din from the backyard as the birds, in those horrid low and guttural tones, squawked out-

“ _Braaaaaaains…_ ”

-in the bird language only she seemed to understand.


	3. Hope Eater

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page 99: http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=99  
> Also requested by happinessisntfun/alva_moondance  
> Reminded me of Nightvale, so I'll say it's a Nightvale AU!

Ahiru decided that there was some sort of creature living in the laundromat, specifically making its home in the fourth washer in the second row, which happened to be the one she was always stuck using, probably because everyone else knew of the creature too and were trying to avoid it, or maybe just plain-out hated her.

Or… not- they might not know, maybe.

But every time she used the fourth washer in the second row in the laundromat, she would exit the building sad and confused and empty, and mourning the loss of her new favorite pair of socks.


	4. Love Me Do

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page 277: http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=277  
> Requested by ampharos98  
> Madoka Magica AU. Contains major spoilers for that show.

“Love me do” was painted inside a heart at the entrance to her labyrinth, bold and clear, in the pastel colors she’d loved so much as a human, but before Fakir could think too much on it, Rue’s Soul Gem reacted and opened the portal and she turned to him-

yes, he said, he was sure he wanted to go in even though it was dangerous, and yes, he realized that he was basically useless since he wasn’t a Puella Magi, but he did still want to go in, to see her again… no, that wasn’t right… it was more like he wanted to see what he could do to help her.

After he had discovered Ahiru’s secret, she had told him all sorts of stories of Witches and their labyrinths, and how fascinating the were, and how, to her, they didn’t seem as inhuman as they appeared on the surface- the irony of that cut -but nothing could prepare him for how grotesque it truly was; her memories played like movies on the walls, familiars that looked like wooden puppets cut in the shape of ducks mocked them, and there she- it? no, she -was in the middle of it, dressed in the imitation of a swan and a ballerina, like she’d always wanted to be, but her eyes were hollow, movements forced, and she wore her own wretched strings.

His mouth dried at the sight of her, and all his words fled his brain- there was so much he wanted to say, so much to tell her, but he just couldn’t, not when he was staring down this monster- this  _ curse  _ -that had devoured her while she selflessly tried to help the whole world; all that sweetness, that compassion, that love for everyone and everything, was gone from this creature, replaced by bitterness, anger, hatred… he could not find the will to hate what she had become, because he couldn’t do that to her, but that didn’t mean he wanted to accept that this had once been the kind, clumsy girl he loved so much.


	5. Ice Cream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page 561: http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=561  
> Requested by ampharos98

Ahiru was always caught off-guard whenever anyone would say Fakir had a heart of ice. After all, it was so easy to forget how cold he could appear, even though she had experienced it all too well in the past- but he wasn't like that, not really, and she could see that now.

It had been a rocky road getting to where they were now, but it was beyond worth it- if she had to make a comparison, and would say that his heart was more like the soft and sweet goodness of ice cream.


	6. Letter to the Aliens

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page 55: http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=55  
> Requested by happinessisntfun/alva_moondance

Dear great alien empire,

I would like to formally congratulate you on the recent conquest of Earth, and the slaughter of our leaders, as it was extremely well-done and a feat worthy of my respect; however, I would like to humbly pose a question, if I may- what about their kids?

I do hope that you strongly consider my proposition, as failure to do may become troublesome for you in the near future.

Sincerely,

Autor


	7. Ciphers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page 854: http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=854  
> Completely self-indulgent.

Ahiru was a girl again, and she should have been free- away from Drosselmeyer’s influence, in a town that was slowly veering away from the controlling influence of Storyspinning -but she was still stuck in a cage, the story that had once trapped them hanging over her head like a dark cloud; Princess Tutu’s curse had not been broken, not by the end of the story, not by Fakir’s pen, not by any other force that could be at work.

It was terrifying-  _ what else remained from the story? _ -and it hurt, it hurt so much, so much more than it had when it had just been Mytho, who was dreamlike and unattainable, because Fakir was so much different than that- he was present and real and gave everything he possibly could to make her happy, and… would  _ hate  _ himself if he knew he hadn’t been able to entirely free her, which is why she had stayed in petrified silence when he told her he loved her.

She thought of ways  _ she  _ could tell him- because selfish as it was, she wanted to -ways that he wouldn’t be able to decode, and found her answer in ciphers, ciphers that made no sense but to her, and traced them on his hands, his arms, his face- wherever she could -trying to see how far she could get into the code before he shrugged her off.


End file.
